Unknown Skies (Gunner Route)
by ASingleMind
Summary: [Expect a permanent change in POV] You've woken up in the back of strange ship, bounded and left to the attention of two strange machines. The only clue you have is the dream you just woke up from...and its looking like whatever happened, it was rather...explosive. You may have attracted some attention from an unsavory paramilitary group that's looking to you for answers. What do?
1. Prologue

**Author's notes: ...So what originally started as a fan fiction, that changed to an interactive visual novel, has returned to fan fiction format due my own incompetence. I cannot, to save my life, draw backgrounds. Character sprites are alright, plot design, and coding I can do, but backgrounds? More like awkward patchworks of incoherent colors. I also considered doing this as a thread quest, but I don't think there's really enough people in the community who would be active enough for it...as much as I would love to GM one.**

**Anyways, onward with the story**!

The only light in room was the ambient glow of screens arranged around circular desks, each of which was attached to mechanical arm gripping the bottom of their spherical workstation. The workstations were mobile along the rotational radius set by their position from the center machine. Their height could also be changed, depending on the priorities of the current project, but for the most part they slowly rotated around the main control desk of the commander. At present, the only motion in the room were fingers flicking across projected interfaces and two silhouettes slowly pacing on the platform beneath them.

One of the figures down below rubbed his hands together, hunched over in the chill of the room. They always kept the temperature lower "to encourage a steady work flow". _And, _Tibald thought to himself, _to save every bloody bit of energy where possible. Even with the drawback of disrupted _blood flow_ for some of us. _Tibald coughed a little under his breath. The gray in his hair had nearly overcome the black. All that remained were the smallest of ripples of the darker color.

To the right of him, the commander wheezed. Although younger than Tibald, the commander looked far worse. He \had put far more, even unnaturally more strain on his body with his artificial recharging. This fact was the only thing that allowed Tibald to feel even remotely secure, despite the more fit cadets behind him.

"Tibald..." the man beside him said in a low, firm voice. The word was crisp in the still air of the metal bound room. "I'm getting impatient with this demonstration."

"Yes, well, the designated time is just a few more minutes from now. I was just about to make some adjustments to—"

"The do so!" The commander almost yelled. As soon as he finished, he began wheezing and coughing profusely. Tibald flinched at the commander's struggle. He looked away and turned on the control panel just a few feet away. He squinted in the sudden ambient light. Moments after, a brighter light in the center of the lower platform they were standing on began to emit.

A single blue light lit the glass cylindrical chamber in front of them. It's design was similar to the light chamber the commander had formerly used, but made wider and without metal casing hindering vision into it. Nearly twice as tall as himself, it would be what they used to channel the energy from the machine into what would, hopefully, be the subject. The container was propped in between machinery cropping up from the ceiling and floor, narrowing as the parts near the container.

"When should we be expecting the..." the commander's cough interrupted him.

"Mere moments, sir..." Tibald said, focused more on the panels in front of him. The amount of energy would be tremendous, and without the help seijin barriers...why had the commander denied his second request? He hadn't been present at the first use—the request for seijins had been made to seem minor when it was sent to his desk—but he had to understand the ramifications of such a technology.

"Tibald."

"Any moment now, sir." The glass surrounding the cylindrical chamber had been a more recent addition since the last use. It was Tibald's attempt to refine the technology, but what he really needed was the unique properties of seijin power. Temporal disruption wavelengths caused massive anomalies in energy in the system, which were too chaotic for his calculations. The only certainty he could bring were wavelengths of several seijins to create a somewhat of a stable photon boundary. He glanced at the commander. He looked as displeased as he expected. He had never been one for waiting on Tibald's developments, especially not since the incident with his grandson.

"For your sake, I hope so." The commander coughed. Tibald burrowed his eyebrows and almost gritted his teeth. His restrictions had only increased since he brought his grandson to his lab. He had finally met his grandson...and there was so much more he wished he could have told him. There was so much he needed to know, and instead he had nearly gotten him killed. It had destroyed any reservations he had on what he had heard about the Sphere.

When the earth shattered, the Sphere had been the only been in the only source of order in the midst humanity's chaos. His lab and work in the scientific community had been destroyed, and he had thought rendered useless. But it had not been forgotten. At the invitation of the commander himself, he had been brought to a new lab to contribute to the Sphere's assets. At first it had been encouraging in light of the surrounding events, but soon requirements for his technology grew more malicious. His feedback reports included casualties, all of which were civilian. But he had turned his eye as the danger of his designs grew more obtuse.

The robotic brigadiers didn't have to smart. They only need to be intimidating, and strong enough to reign in the general populace, which was mostly non-seijin. Tibald took solace in the flawed design...

His anger, which he normally swallowed until he could find a way to dissipate it without compromising his loyalty, refused to leave him. His heart pounded as a thought came to him. The commander was here, sickly and exposed. It wasn't necessary to leave the glass down. It probably wouldn't do much in any case.

The commander cackled as the machine began to whir. Tibald was unsure as to which party's fate he was pondering. It didn't matter. His death, as well as everyone's in the room was imminent without any other precautions. There wouldn't be anything here for them. But did they have to...

"Tibald." the commander spoke up. "I hope you're not expecting anything aside from what you've been given." Tibald perked up at this, but made no sign of it. His adjustments had been made. The whirring grew louder as sparking blue light began to sputter around the cylinder. As it grew more volatile, Tibald took a step back from the controls. The energy began to dance chaotically around the center of the machine. It warped the light within its confines, obscuring the inherent validity of anything within. Light moved ever so slowly, pouring over itself. Air boiled. The glass mended itself to an infinite number of shapes.

The commander continued to watch the progression of the machine's light show. Suddenly the intensity of the light shot through the sensitivity of those watching. In the midst, the glass began to bend inward around its center, taking a final shape. It disappeared in the next moment.


	2. Chapter 1

You think maybe taking a walk might be good for your head. Its hard to tell, between the rocking table in front of you and the barrista rolling her eyes from the bar counter. You imagine this is an all too familiar sight for her, especially on a Friday night in student town. The city had more of a publife to speak of than a nightlife. Thinking on it, albiet a bit slowly, you remember there might be one club in the area but with rare exception it was usually filled with the rough sketchy kind of crowd. You smile, nodding your head at the thought. You're certainly glad you've never been there, you're very sensible.

Looking down at your cards, you ponder what to do next when your turn comes around. Your elf-bonus is quite insidious, although a bit difficult to use. Its hard to catch people off-guard. At this point people realize that with your meager level you're scrambling to catch up. Your buddy across the table is almost level 10, but you know his lead won't last for long. You could almost guarantee that someone at the table was already ready to knock him down. At least, you certainly hope you're right. Its starting to feel like this might the last game of the night, but your head is swirling so nicely.

The last time your club took their event to the bar was the beginning of the last school year. It was fun, but the it was cut short by school obligations. The idiots had decided to take it to a bar on a _Wednesday night._ Club people may not have the best reputation for keeping up with their schoolwork, but they did at least _try_. And besides, you couldn't even drink with them yet.

Leaning back, your attention begins to drift on and off the game. Man, you're tired...but you'd still be up for something exciting. Just as long as it didn't involve getting up from your chair. Your head begins to roll to the side against the cushioned booth. It feels softer than it should.

You see some strange looking guy awkwardly walk past the bar counter to sit at a table against the window. You raise an eyebrow, chuckling. Despite your amusement, you gotta feel a little sorry for the guy. He almost seems to be...surprised by the people chugging down their drinks as he walks by. Doesn't he know where he is? Now he's just glaring and shaking his head derisively. You watch him, for some reason, until he sits down.

And for that matter, where did he get his clothes? They look handmade, and a little worn, but otherwise nicely tailored. You'd almost be a little jelly if he didn't look so out of place. You're thinking about it, and...given his polite but uptight demeanor...nope, you can't quite place it. You get the strange feeling that it will come to you soon.

He manages to get to his table right across the bar from your booth. He's maintaining a nice posture, wrapping his hands in each other in front of him and keeping his back straight. 'Relax, dude.' you mumble. You feel your eyes closing.

In the darkness of your eyelids you suddenly realize how the swirling in your head is turning to a soft pounding. Clearly, you realize, you need another drink. You turn, opening your eyes. The table is covered in drinks, mostly glasses of beer. You really wish you had some of your sweet apple cinnamon mead right now...that's the stuff. Ale just never suited you. You like the dangerous mixed drinks with high alcohol that you can't taste and don't burn your damn throat. Besides, you can't have most beers anyway. Gotta find something that's left for you...

"Dude, you're outta your mind..."

" Please sir, I'm sure you can reconsider..." his tone seems to becoming sharper.

"You must think that all students are fucking idiots. Well, news for you, not all of us are drinking away our degrees."

"I never assumed you were. In fact I—"

Dammit this yelling is ruining your concentration. Looking down in front of you there's a glass half-empty of its contents. 'Duh...' you mutter, grabbing the glass. You begin to drink it down, savoring the flavor. Then the damn drink begins to slip over your lips...but you manage to get most of it down. Your head turns to the side again. You think you might have something on him as you let your eyes wander around the bar. His old-fashioned clothes are a big hint you notice again. He's obviously not from around here.

The man sitting across the bar is getting a bit pensive. You wonder what the hell he's trying to sell. You see a number of empty glasses in front him, ice cubes intact. He's huddled the glasses in front of him, almost protectively. _The only person who's going to take some melting ice from you is one of the waitresses dude._ He locks eyes with you, and you have to admit, you feel a bit creeped out. He waves you over. 'Not helping dude...' But you sit up anyway. You get a strange feeling that would have no matter what. Maybe this is worth getting up from your seat. You do just that, trying to maintain some dignity in your walk. You fail miserably, almost falling over a table on the way there. But you make it.

"So, what'ya trying to sell then, Amish dude." you half-mumble.

"Excuse m—sure. Take a seat. You look like you need it, dear."

"Cut the crap dude, its creeping me out." you reply as you sit down. "Why are 'ya trying to sell furniture in a place like this?"

You swear he just gave you a stink eye but you shrug it off. "So...what is like for student's these days?" he says in a low voice. You squint trying to hear him better. He chuckles.

"Uh, how did you know I was a student...?"

"I had a few hints." he replies, again with a chuckle. Yeah, it was probably pretty obvious.

[]Vague Answer

[]Polite

[X]Broke-ass bitches

[]What's it to you?

"...students? _Ha_. More like broke-ass bitches..." You chuckle at your own comment. Your table partner seems a little taken back, maybe.

"Well then...I guess some things never change." he chuckles again. _Damn, that is getting annoying. _"So you could say that you're not satisfied with the way things are going for you, then?"

"Yeah, no kidding." He doesn't say anything for a few moments. You start on some explanations on why you feel this way, mostly talking about the damn government, the damn education system, the damn everything. Why is the rent so damn high? Why...

"I see, I see." he says, interrupting you. Whatever, you were probably rambling anyway.

"Oh really...?" you smile. You try to play coy, but he ignores it entirely.

"Yes. How about you take this here..." he hands you a small electronic card. You've seen them around. "...and I might be able to help you out, in a way." You give him an odd look. This feels kinda weird, but its just a card, so why not?

"Actually, she's not." Shit, you remember you walked up in the middle of the game. "C'mon, let's get back over to the table..." Your tall friend grabs you by the arm lifting you out of your seat. You're being dragged pretty quickly, but not fast enough to miss the card the man hands you just as your friend turns the other way.

"Dammit, what the hell were you thinking? I think you need to go home. Where's the DD..."

"There is no DD" you mutter.

"Then I guess we're dragging somebody out of bed to haul your drunk ass home. I'm not sending you home on the bus." You snort. "In the meantime, we're going to have a talk." You cease whatever it was that was coming out of your mouth. "Now I know you're drunk so you probably won't remember much of this, but I'm not going to be seeing you until Monday. Besides, I have a feeling whoever we get won't be impressed either."

"That was incredibly stupid. You don't go up to strangers in a _bar _of all places, especially when you're totally smashed. What the hell made you go over there anyway?"

"Uh..." Come to think of it, you don't actually know why you did. Your friend starts acting like you actually gave him a response.

"Dammit, that's _not _something that's supposed to encourage you. I thought you more - than this, even if you are drunk..." What was that?

"This -. You don't - could - ended up if you'd left with them." Explosions?

"Yeah, you're right." Your friend sighs, but you think maybe he's satisfied with your answer. You're just going along with this until...

"-?"

"What..." Now your friend seems to tune into what you're actually saying. You don't see anything outside the windows, just the normal general buzz of the late night. Then, the bar shakes. You're the only one who seems to notice.

And just as suddenly as you arrived at the table, already drunk, you feel a solid pounding against the side of your head. It smashes through your stupor. It feels... _real. _You wince at the pain.

Well, you're certainly awake now, at least.

At least, you seem to be. You can feel yourself self lying down, pressed against a cold metal bench-like structure. The air is also cold, and as you open your eyes the small compartment is revealed in dim white light. The light itself almost seems metallic as it hits the surface of the plated walls, inextricably bending away from it.

The bench you're curled up on extends to the entire length of the room, which is barely longer than you are tall. It's more of a short hallway than a room. You see another bench across from you, occupied by two silicone figures covered with rounded plating around their limbs. They sit motionless, and as you sit up one turns to observe you without so much as moving an inch, save for its singular ocular lens around its head. You freeze the moment in locks on you. Their appearance would be almost dorky if it weren't for their inhuman stillness. After a moment it turns back to looking straight ahead at nothing. You can only assume this means its safe to finish sitting up. The two machines seem to be vaguely based on a humanoid design, save for the shrunken heads, single handedness and straightened torsos and limbs. They seem like they would be really stiff, as the metal plating doesn't leave much room around the black silicone joints.

You see what appears to be two doors on either end of the cabin. The one to your left is only noticeable as a rectangular indent into the wall. You don't see hinges, so it must have a sliding mechanic. The one to your right is similar, but there is a small window in the upper half of the door that is currently covered by something. It is very clear to you now that this is not a room in some building but more likely a back area in some kind of vessel. A very small one at that.

As you straighten up, you feel a strong vibration around your wrists. Its very jarring against the bone at the end of your forearm—it sends shivers up your arm. It rubs against you in a way that cannot be ignored. Its too unnatural to be pushed aside. The longer you think about it, the more you really _really _want to rip whatever it is off. It's keeping your hands together uncomfortably behind your back.

You try to think about what could have warranted the use of such cuffs and...you recall the dream. You try to think farther back...and there's nothing. Just the dream. You have no idea what you were doing before you wound up here, and for that matter, who you are. You try and try again to remember something, _anything, _but there's absolutely nothing. You try not to let this freak you out. It's probably of a short side effect of being rudely woken up. It will pass. In the meantime, you should try to work with what you have.

The dream...you're a student? Alright, that's a start. At some point you were at a pub with your friends...its not very specific but its something. For some reason you can't get a clear picture of their faces in your head. Maybe it has to do with whatever you were drinking? Whatever the case, the dream really doesn't give you much to go on.

After a few moments, you wonder how you managed to hit your head from lying on a flat surface. Whatever this is, it appears to moving fairly smoo—a tremor moves through the room. It feels like something exploded outside and very close to where ever you are. It's making you a bit concerned, but also curious. You hear some noises from the room beyond the door to your left.

[]Investigate

[X]Stay where you are

You'd like to confront whoever it is the next room, but you also know that its likely a terrible idea under these circumstances. You're being guarded by two robots with a gun for one arm and have your hands tied behind your back. They wouldn't have done that if they didn't think you were dangerous...

Just then the left door opens. You see a large open space inside a larger metal room behind with a small bridge leading from the door to a center platform. A figure briskly walks up without any hesitation.

She's a girl, younger than you, dressed in a completely black outfit, save for some kind of circular emblem above her heart. The top is form fitting and extends into a small skirt-like part around the pelvis covering the top of her pants. The ensemble seems strange to you, but you're quickly overtaken by the stoic look she gives as she notices you. She stands boldly, and doesn't lower her head at all as she turns to look at you. Rather, she's making a point of looking down on you. The most striking thing about her though to you is her shaved head.

"I see you're awake now. Have a nice nap?" her tone is anything but kind, but you feel that her voice doesn't match her demeanor. Its far too girl-like. You realize she's even younger than you thought. She walks to the door on your right before turning back around. "Now that you're awake, you can answer some of my questions. Who are you?" You have know idea, but you can also tell that she's not going to take that. You'll have to make something up.

[]Female name

[]Male name

[X]Neither

"My name is Quinn." you stutter out. One of the machines makes a soft beeping noise.

"No last name? Well that's not uncommon, but..." she seems hesitant to accept your answer. "How about we try that again, in full?"

"...it's Quinn. Just Quinn." you try to assert. She makes a soft huff at this.

"Very well, _Quinn. _Care to explain to me what happened?" You'd love to if that meant getting out of these bonds and away from her. You're not sure what to say, so you decide to say nothing at all. After a few moments she seems visibly annoyed. "Playing games here won't help you. If you're not going to explain..." just as she's about to make a threat she pauses. "...fortunately for you I don't have time to deal with this if you're not going to be compliant." You resist the urge to shrink back.

"You're going to have a lot of explaining to do. I hope you have some good answers for the Commander." she hisses and promptly turns around to enter what you now presume to be cockpit. You hear some whirring noises as the bridge outside the craft retracts and vessel lurches into motion. After a moment, it simply drops. You panic as you feel as you feel your body trying to resist the motion.

Just as quickly, the craft bolts forward taking you by surprise. You manage to keep yourself upright. From inside you can feel the ship moving about erratically. You try to gather your thoughts to distract yourself from whatever is going on outside.

You're pretty sure you just "un-docked" from some larger bay area, from under which you seemingly flew out of. The orientation is strange. The larger area must be part of some kind of floating or overhanging structure...you can't imagine how much power it would take to keep it afloat, if it can contain multiple vessels like this one. Your situation is only getting more confusing.

Why did she take you with her? She must have picked you up somewhere and then returned to the docking bay. You don't think you were found _within _whatever it is, but you can't be sure. Surely it would have some holding area? Unless she didn't have time to leave you...

You're starting to hear explosions, although they're not close to the ship. Concentrating harder, you can hear what you think may be other ships flying around. You hear the sounds of shots firing. _Oh. An attack. _It fits with the girl's militant attitude. It probably started a little while before you woke up.

The ship continues its erratic path as it lurches back and forth. There's more firing and explosions outside the cabin, some of which seem to be getting close. And then there's a direct hit that rocks the ship sideways. It doesn't seem to be critical.

"ARGH!" she yells in frustration. There's another direct hit, and shakes the ship even more than the last one. You can feel the craft beginning to dive. You stare down the machines across from you, which of course are unflinching. A moment later the wall behind them is blasted open, sending shrapnel everywhere with the robots flung aside. The ship begins slowly turning over toward the hole. The machines begin to sporadically twist their limbs as they fall back toward the gaping hole in the ship. They fall forwards and out into the open sky, continuing to flail ineffectually. You feel yourself falling as well and begin to panic. Standing up lurches you even further toward your fate. You try to orient yourself toward the cockpit door, hoping to hell that it opens before you fall out as well. You really wish you could properly use your arms right now. Now you're falling toward the cockpit door, but as the ship continues to turn, you find yourself closing in on the hole. There's nothing outside. Just open sky. You can't even see the ground, and for a moment you wonder if you might just fall forever.

The door slides open, and you fling yourself over the edge and into the other room. She turns to look at you and seethes. She cranks the controls, trying to full the ship out of the fall. It sends you spinning as you're flung to the other side of the cockpit. The controls on the wall jab into your back. You scream as the spinning repeatedly presses you against them.

She grabs you violently and throws you down off the wall, although it does little to cease your yelling. The world spins through the front window in front of you. You see the sky, broken by_ pieces_ of land as you rotate. It doesn't make any sense and you're in pain. Nothing makes sense and you're falling do your death inside a metal deathtrap of a ship. If the crash doesn't kill you, you're pretty sure _she _will.

The ship hits something in its descent, stopping the chaotic spinning. You hit the other wall with a thud. All you can see out the window as you slide down toward the floor is open sky.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 Notes: PLEASE go back to chapter one to read the amendment. The chapter is now finished and has been renamed as such. Just scroll down until you see the new part, thank you. **

_Well, at least your awake._

And you're alive. At least, you're pretty sure you're at least somewhat still in the land of living. You think that in itself might prove it. Something along the lines of, "I think, therefore I am" floats by your awareness. You feel rather light though, and this makes you rather uncertain about yourself.

"...are they alive?" The voice seems distant, but you think its probably a trick of the light, or lack thereof. The darkness _is_ rather heavy. Its so weighty against your feather-weight self that you worry it might overcome you if you let your guard down.

"Seems like they might be. Any sign of the Guardian?"

"Not that I can tell. Looks like they left this one for dead...just like what you'd expect."

Despite yourself, you're feeling more and more tired under the weight around you. You 've realized that you can't move on your own.

"Be careful anyway. They could still be lurking around." This voice is reassuring against darkness. It strikes a light for you.

"The sun is almost set. I think we'll be able to take them if they try anything..." The voice fades off. You don't want the sun to set. You need...to be able to distinguish...between the...darkness...and...

You're back, somehow. Your weight has returned, along with your other senses in full. One by one they turn on, pounding against you as they fill in all the gaps in your awareness. Lying against a metal surface again. _Am I back on that ship? Or somewhere else...? _Its a fair bit warmer though that that ship. You roll over and open your eyes.

"Good morning sunshine. I'm glad to see your awake...or am I being too hasty?"

Its the reassuring voice from earlier, except now its much more scrutinizing.

"Uh...hello to you too." you reply as you sit up. This proves to be more difficult than expect, but you manage anyway.

"I'm surprised you even woke up. You took quite the beating in that crash." You turn to see a bespectacled young man wiping his hands off with a small towel. There's a pair of gloves sitting next to him on a small wheeled table covered in small instruments and bandages. "Try not too move too quickly for the next little while." Your experience with sitting up already encouraged this.

"So would you care to tell us what you were doing on a Sphere ship?" You turn back to the women. _Sphere? _You remember the emblem the girl was wearing.

"...I was in the back with my hands tied behind me..." as you say this, you notice that this is no longer the case. "I was taken prisoner for some reason, although I don't know why."

"...You don't know _why_ you were taken?"

"...I woke up, much like this. Except...I couldn't remember anything except for the dream I'd been having." You tell them the truth, since you don't know enough to say otherwise.

"I see." she says slowly. She ponders it for a moment. "Is there any particular reason why you don't want to tell us?" Yeah, she's not buying it.

"I would tell you if I could. This is all I have." The women sighs.

"...the markings on the wrists support part of the story. Most likely it was an anti-energy type binding, although I can't sense any reason for it to have been used." Issac interjects.

"Oh?" The women turns to you. "Why would a _non-seijin _being wearing those kinds of bindings? Are you suppressing it?" You shrink back a little.

"Um..."

"No, we've been over this. Besides, most people can break out of normal bindings." Issac continued. _Is he defending me? _"Regardless, the civilian clothes at least tell us the '_capture' _was most likely recent. I've also never seen a Sphere employee in street clothing."

"Unless they were undercover."

"Still doesn't explain the bindings."

"Perhaps something went wrong, something the Sphere found _upsetting._"

"Which means they don't want them either..." Issac turns to you. "...and would the person in question would be left with..._few _choices. Hypothetically speaking, of course." You cringe a little at the last part, but to your relief the women seems to nod at this.

"So do you have anything else to say for yourself?" the women says, looking at you harshly. _I guess their suspicion is warranted...still, so far they've treated me far better. And they don't seem to want me harmed, at least not immediately._

"I have no loyalty to the...Sphere."

"I thought you said you didn't remember anything."

"I don't. But from I know since waking up is that a..._Sphere _agent me for dead. I only survived because your people saved me from the wreckage, for no immediate benefit as far as I can see." The woman's expression doesn't seem to change.

"Well, you've made some fair points, although I'm still not sure I believe the amnesia story." the women states. Issac nods. "For now, you will stay here under Issac's watch. I'm going to think about what you've told me for a while. Try not to do anything rash—I wouldn't recommend it in your condition." As soon as she finishes, she nods at Issac and turns to leave. The metal door creaks loudly as it closes on its rusty hinges.

"Well, it looks like you're with me for a while." You nod. "Would like you something to drink, then?"

"Uh...yes. Thank you." Issac smiles softly and turns to grab a gray canister sitting on a counter behind him. He casually tosses it to you, which ends up a rather to be a little embarrassing for you. Your bruised and bandaged upper limbs are heavy and move too slowly to catch it, and it hits you in the face. It lands softly in your lap. You expect Issac to at least giggle, but instead he apologizes.

"Ah, sorry, you're still feeling rather weak aren't you?" You nod. "I also expect that you're feeling a bit of...lopsidedness? You looked a little unbalanced sitting up earlier."

"Uh, yeah. My right side feels...weird."

"That probably has something do with your head and neck injuries. Fortunately nothing seems to have been severed, although you did manage a few small dents in your skull."

"Will it pass?"

"Hopefully. Its too early to say for sure, and without imaging or more invasive tools I can't say for sure. Unfortunately I'm not that equipped here." You look around as he says this. The room seems to be encased in metal, which you think likely means that this another, much larger ship. The walls are a textured orange and red split. You can see rust in the corners and along the crevices. You're sitting on a metal operating table in the middle of the room, of which there is only one. The ceiling light doesn't illuminate the room very well, but there are some small desk lamps lining the counter that runs along two wall of the room. There's also a much brighter light shining from behind you that seems to be attached to the table you're sitting on. The room is a surprisingly small. Not too far from you are two beds in each surrounded by curtains in the corner opposite the counter. "As you can see, this little medical bay isn't very grand, but its enough for us."

"So...who is _us, _anyway?"

"Ah, yes. Since you'll be spending some time with us I suppose I should ought to let you know. You are currently on board the main ship of the _Wind Devils_. The women who just left was our Captain, Aurelia." He almost seems to puff up with pride a little as he says this...however you fail to react. "Right then."

"Sorry, I have no idea what that is."

"Yes, well, just know that the Sphere isn't particularly fond of us. You'll come to see more of our operations soon enough, assuming all goes well for you." He smiles to lighten the implication. "It's been quite a while since I've seen someone wearing _denim_. Very _vintage. _In fact, I don't think I've ever met anyone personally who owns the material..."

You look down at yourself, and then at him to realize that you can't tell exactly _what_ his clothes are made of. Somehow they manage to be too flat for cotton. "You must be from a rather well-off family to acquire such goods. Indigo dye is rare commodity these days..." Issac continues. You remain silent. Issac looks at you as you continue to stare blankly back at him. He sighs, and the smile he'd been wearing since the Captain left fades.

"So when I said I sensed no reason, I was lying."

"Uh..."

"Earlier when I mentioned there was no reason for anti-energy bindings. I can tell you're non-seijin, but there's something else about you. A disturbance...it feels like some kind of energy, but its definitely not seijin. Its more like...an aura of uneasiness." He cringes as he says the word 'aura'. He begins to stare at you intently, slowly leaning in toward yyou. "I'm really curious as to how you managed to come under such a...condition." He places his hands on the edge of the table. You resist the urge to lean back. For some reason, you no longer want to show him anything. "It was messing up some of my electronics earlier when I was scanning you earlier." _I thought he said he didn't have anything like that?_ "And it seems to be interfering with my extrasensory abilities. I've never experienced anything like it..." He trails off, thinking about something. Eventually he moves back away from you. He turns back to the counter, pulling up a chair. "I wonder if its based at all in that Excelarium theory I've been hearing about..." he mumbles to himself. After a while he notices that you're still staring at him.

"Oh, you should probably rest for now, given your injuries. You can take one of beds over there." You decide to just listen to him for now. You cringe in pain as you land on your feet sliding off the table. Your legs are weaker than you expected.

"Think of this as part of your rehabilitation." he says coolly. You slowly make your way over to the bed closest to you. You pull back the curtain to see a very basic looking mattress with thin white sheets. _At least this will be softer than the table...probably. _As you lie down, you realize this is barely the case at all. Still, it feels nicer on your aching limbs.

"If you think need anything...reconsider it. Right now all you should be doing is resting. I'll bring you some more water later." You half ignore him, settling yourself under the covers trying not to think about how Issac might be planning to investigate his curiosity.

**Author's notes: Wow. What. a. _Douche. _Guess I shouldn't be surprised. He was my idea after all. Anyway...**

** If you haven't already, go finish reading the now finished first chapter. There are some important hints in the part I added. Once you're down that, I'd like like to direct you to my youtube channel (under the same name). You've read this far, obviously you can spare a few more moments for me (please)? I have couple Skyland videos you might like. You don't have to leave a comment, but it'd be nice to have some views that aren't mine on it. It would make me feel a little better about making them : P**

** I guess I should be upfront with how slow my updates might be. The next one will be a little faster, but longer chapters will of course take longer. School keeps me busy, but it doesn't cost you anything to wait does it? Obnoxiousness aside, I really _do _appreciate any response to these. Hope to hear from you guys soon.**


	4. Interlude I

** Noticed some mistakes in the previous chapter...I probably shouldn't have rushed to upload right after finishing it. Its also needs a bit more...fleshing out for the flow I noticed. My apologies for that. Hopefully most chapters will be at least the same length as chapter one from now on. I'll let you know when I've re-written anything, just in case.**

** So now this is actually looking more and more like a Skyland fan fiction! Glad some of you stuck around to see that, despite the perspective of choice. Its...from reading a lot of thread quests. Unfortunately I feel like suddenly changing it would ruin this a bit...but if you think otherwise, let me know!**

**Interlude I**

The young girl never expected that her first mission—an _escorting_ mission no less—would turn out so terribly. Sure, water carriers were occasionally the target of renegade attacks, but from what she heard their attempts were fairly low-scale, unorganized. This, she was beginning to wonder, was maybe not the case. Or perhaps she was simply the victim of an new increasing trend of more planned attacks. Either way, she'd been absolutely _humiliated. _

As she pulled herself from the wreckage, she thought about how she could _possibly _approach the Commander now after such a catastrophic failure. The loss of a large water-carrier and its supply, several patrol ships, and what was looking like, possibly the loss of some other recent Gaurdian graduates. She'd seen their patrollers exploding before even hitting the ground. She didn't have high hopes for them.

The front window of the ship had shattered inward, the shrapnel piercing her arms that had shielded her. The bleeding was not as profuse as she expected, although her uniform was still ruined. The window was supposed to be designed to break more cleanly, but somehow it still managed to send shards all down her arm. She could barely flex the muscles without sharp pain running all the way down her arm, through her shoulder and up to the base of her head. As it was, she was forcing the rest of her body to push her forward, cringing as she crawled over pieces of the window.

The door behind her audibly sparked and creaked as it attempted to open itself. Over the dashboard and through the window seemed to be her only option. She was by the chair now, her head just barely making it over the ledge of the front controls. She sat up taking several deep breaths to do so, and..._focused—"AHH!" _she yelled as the energy running down her arm screamed against the open wounds. It sputtered as it noted each them, pushing out the shrapnel leaving larger wounds. A small ball of energy fell from her hand hitting the chair in front of her, barely scratching it. She gasped as her arms tensed to recoil against the disrupted flow...which only sent another wave of pain up to head. Her body fell back against the wall and she caught her breath. For a while she simply lied there, waiting until the pain faded. She would have to lift herself up the hard way.

As she waited, several thoughts came to her. Would she be able to use her powers through her arms even after the wounds healed? She hoped none of the connections had been severed. The Guardian Academy had some knowledge on regenerative properties of seijins, but it varied wildly. She didn't know if it repair _itself_. Now that she was sitting upright, she could see the prisoner still unconscious across from her. Their bindings had somehow managed to break in the crash.

She snarled as the thought of being unable to bring them back to headquarters. There had been an unexpected explosion of energy the ripples of which had been felt miles away. It had been..._strange. _It was definitely non-seijin, but it also didn't feel like one of the generated energies used to power Skyland. It was more like...an opening spreading across space. Like a gravitation wave, but much sharper. The oddest thing was nothing seem to be affected by it, aside from some electronic interference. The only thing they found was _them_ in the epicenter. Her and the other graduates with her had been sent to investigate it, slightly deviating from the escort mission...and she would be returning with _nothing. _Less than nothing in fact. There were probably greater losses that she wouldn't be able to assess until she was outside.

She was in no condition to contain the prisoner if they woke up, however she expected this would not happen soon. They had taken a number of hits to the head as the ship had crashed. She sighed as she surveyed what was left of them Blood ran down the side of their head from where the biggest crash hit them. There also seemed to be small amounts of another fluid running with it. Their right arm was twisted oddly. The entire right side of her body seemed somehow compressed. She was beginning to expect the worst of their condition.

The pain had now subsided for the most part. She shifted her legs around to her front and behind to push up against the wall. Slowly, she slid upwards and leaned against the wall. She lied across the controls with her arms in front of her. Using the chair and the wall, she pushed off through the window.

The ground had not been as far down as she thought. Not only had the ship nose-dived the crash, but it had crashed against ledge. She fell flat on her back, cringing a little.

The bleeding had gotten worse since her attempt to levitate herself. Fortunately, her powers seemed to at least have retained some of their healing properties. The sun was setting now. If the attackers thought there was any chance anyone had survived...she would not want to be found here. She pushed her self up off the ground, careful to keep her arms still and began to walk.

The bloc she had landed on was surprisingly large for one under the main skyline. It spread into the horizon and rolled over grassy hills, dipping down into small valleys. She almost smiled at this. If she was fortunate, she wouldn't be found if she moved quickly enough.

She sat down in a hole inside of a hill opposite to where she had come from. It as obscured somewhat by tall grass. It wasn't large enough to fit her entirely, but it would be enough for now. She was sure the Sphere would send a rescue team of some sort. All of the Guardians assigned had been recent graduates. It was supposed to have been _easy _she grumbled to herself. The bleeding had slowed.

In the distance a large craft whirred as the engine was winding down. It landed without much noise. She couldn't hear the occupants leaving from where she was sitting, but she didn't doubt they had come down to investigate what was left of her ship. Maybe salvage it for parts.. All they would find was a dead prisoner, and a fried control system. Ship repair wasn't her specialty. It was possible that there were some parts still intact...but nothing that would lead them to her.

It wasn't until well into the wee hours of the morning they found her. Their timing surprised her. She hadn't expected anyone until after sunrise, but she had few complaints. The Guardians who found her had been mildly apathetic to her condition. They seemed to think she had run away. Didn't they see her ruined ship?

"You're lucky we found you at all, hiding in the grass like that." one of them sneered. She ignored him.

"Seven patrollers destroyed, three dead Guardians, a full carrier worth of water lost...and you said you knew nothing about that energy wave? I hope the Commander will be in a good mood when she meets with you tomorrow morning." the other said. She winced a little at that, but hoped it didn't show. It wasn't her fault she was the only one to survive...

"I heard you were a promising student in the academy. Maybe if you're lucky the Commander will have some mercy." She was the only one left to blame. She doubted the Commander's ability to show much of anything close to forgiveness.. From their brief encounters, she knew that the Commander was the most ruthless person she had met. Far worse than her instructors had been. She commanded the Sphere's forces without hesitation and dealt with threats with great exactitude, or with great cruelty. Those who headed other sections of the Sphere respected her, withholding their reservations against some of her more brutal measures.

Many students who, once accustomed to life with the Sphere, grew to admire her prowess. It often seemed to know few bounds. Her raw seijin powers were said to be rivaled by few, and her technique mirrored her tactical precision...the thought of her still struck awe in the young Guardian, despite her fate.

"We're almost there. I suggest you spend your time thinking very carefully about what to say until your appointed time. You'll be informed of the details upon landing." By now she had tuned them out.

"Diwan." Her name echoed in the empty chamber hall. "I'm sure you've already been informed of the details of the result of the mission, but I feel it bears repeating. It was an utter failure. We lost most of our patrollers assigned to that mission, as well as all of our forces aside from _you. _Not to mention the loss of all the precious water aboard the carrier..." She had no reply. She could not deny the facts. There was nothing she could do to cool the anger growing in the Commander in front of her. She continued to stare at her desk, forehead held in her woven hands. "I.. have a _hard _time believing that you found absolutely _nothing _regarding that energy spike either." The Commander raised her glare up to Diwan. "I don't know _how." _Diwan cringed as the Commander's voice grew more heated. "And I almost don't _care_ how you managed to screw up so badly on an escort mission...but we need intel on these renegades. Their attacks have become increasingly more strategic."

Diwan held her gaze at the Commander. It would do her no good to show fear now. "And we can't afford to be losing more of our Gaurdian forces. Good seijins are hard enough to come by as it is." Diwan noticed no change in the Commander's expression. "Would you _care to explain_ how all of this happened? I'm not surprised our... supposedly best Guardian out of those assigned survived, but how no one else did under the circumstances _baffles_ me." The Commander paused. There was a silence, and then Diwan realized the Commander was waiting.

"I had just been returning from investigating the incident when the carrier was under attack. The rest of the forces were already in formation and retaliating. I joined them immediately after returning."

"From the investigation from which you somehow found _nothing._" Diwan paused. "Continue..."

"They had surrounded the carrier. We were outnumbered—"

"Excuses."

"Several patrollers had already fallen. The attackers seemed to know how many were piloted by human operators...they made a point of focusing on us. I saw several of my fellow Guardians exploding..." The Commander raised an eye brow but said nothing. "I've never seen the ships they were using before. They were small and fast, but that wasn't what made them difficult to take down..." Diwan paused here. "Their weapons used a different kind of energy than ours. To be honest, they seemed much more effective."

"So they've come up with some things, have they? That's quite _interesting _considering their lack of resources."

"I maneuvered just as well as they did, but it wasn't long until one of their weapons stuck the side of my ship. It blew off the wing and blasted a hole in the side of the ship."

"Which sent you off balance and spinning most likely. This at least matches what was left of your ship." the Commander noted.

"I was the only patroller left by this point. We had taken down several but..."

"But?"

"But I couldn't recover from the damage. The ship crashed as you already know."

"Indeed." There was a silence. The Commander spent several moments in what looked like deep thought.

"So basically, you've given me almost _nothing _here...but I suppose I wasn't expecting anything more. Still, your witness account may prove helpful to determining any advancements they've made with their weapons." Diwan internally sighed with relief. "I'm unwilling to admit that our Guardians could have been so _easily _taken down, but I'll let that slide for now." "Normally I don't spare my Guardians much leeway even for their first mission. You wouldn't be seeing this side of Skyland for quite a while. You'd be buried in paperwork where I wouldn't have to think about you..." The Commander paused again. "But we're stretched thin as it is, and I have something equally punishing in mind." Whatever relief Diwan had been feeling vanished. "There's someone I'd like you to meet." At that moment, the door behind Diwan slid open. She could hear the footsteps of a single person. They were evenly paced and somehow unnerving. "You may turn around now."

She didn't want to turn to see who or whatever the Commander thought was worse than exile. Hesitantly, she did so anyway.

"I'd like you to meet Oslo. I'm sure you've heard of him. He's a bit older than you, but I hear students in the academy still like to tell stories about him." _No..._

"Greetings." His voice is cool and uncaring. _No. __**No. **__Not him. _"I look forward to working with you." His gaze ran cold through her as pierced through her facade. _This is worse. _She can feel that she won't survive unless she tries to match his tone.

"Likewise." _This is so much worse. _

"You're being assigned as partners from now on. I am aware that this may seem rather...forthcoming. You may be wondering why you're being granted something normally reserved for those who have been with us a while..." _That's far from my mind and she knows it. She's enjoying this._

"But make no mistake. I'm not assigning you as an _equal_. You'll be walking a very thin line for the next while. You'll be obeying him primarily from now on." _This is a death sentence. _"Oslo has already been briefed on the matter." _Then why is he here why is this happening why _"You are dismissed now." Oslo turned to leave, giving no heed to the young Guardian frozen in place. She knew far too much about him. His first partner betrayed the Sphere by abandoning her duties as a Guardian and running off with some rebel. There were rumors regarding how he had felt about her. Her leaving had made him even worse than he had been in the academy. His manner as it was now mimicked the Commander's. His powers were one of the few to rival —supposedly even the Commander was wary of him. Keeping him around was risky. His success record was nearly flawless and his dedication unmatched...but his motivations, as one so similar to the Commander, were unclear. The most frightening thing was that none of the partners—and there had been a number of them—remained around long. They were declared missing, presumed dead. They stopped assigning him any years ago. _Then they made an exception. For me._ Murmuring among her classmates implied that most, if not all were at least indirectly because of him. How such a dangerous Guardian was given free reign was beyond them...

"Oh, and Oslo, try not to lose this one. I promise you she'll be at least somewhat competent."

"I'll try my best." he replied without turning around. The Commander took no mind to this slight. Diwan, after several moments, followed him out. She was beginning to get a feel for why he was still here.

"Good luck Diwan. Impress me." _You're not the one I'm worried about. _

Author's Notes: **An interlude almost as long as the first chapter? That's not right! Someone tell this author cut it down next time. **

** That out of the way, I'm expecting other interludes to be shorter. If you haven't liked what you've read so far, you might like the next chapter more. Its almost time to see what's going to become of our protagonist!**

** For anyone looking to rewatch the series, I'm seeding for most of the torrents out there. I'll be doing so for quite a while. Grab them soon!**


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